Best Portions: The gluttonous won't leave hungry

Banchero's Italian Dinners

For almost sixty years, generations of Hayward residents have been going to Banchero's for a nice night out with the family, a place where the word value still means something. A lot of something. To get to your $13 chicken Parmesana dinner, you'll have to first tackle a bowl of minestrone, a salad, a plate of cold cuts and pickled vegetables, and a plate of ravioli or spaghetti with meat sauce. Then make sure to save room for a scoop of ice cream afterward. There's no use trying to finish any of the courses. The waiters know it, too: They offer to pack up the leftovers every time they clear a course, so you could walk out with more food than you tucked in.